Chelsea’s faltering attempts to offload Diego Costa this summer could scupper their bid to land Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku, according to The Independent.
The newspaper claims that Chelsea are planning to fund deals for the Premier League’s star duo by selling Costa in the forthcoming window, but their attempts could be dealt a blow by Atletico Madrid’s reluctance to meet their asking-price.
The La Liga giants are only willing to spend in the region of £20million to re-sign Costa this summer, having sold him to Chelsea for £32million three years ago.
Chinese Super League outfit Tianjin Quanjin, meanwhile, are willing to pay as much as £76million, but the 28-year-old has made it clear he would only consider quitting Chelsea to return to Atletico.
That could either leave Chelsea seeking alternative routes to raise the finances to acquire Arsenal’s Sanchez and Everton’s Lukaku, or pull the plug on their pursuit altogether.
The Sun has claimed that Everton are not prepared to listen to offers below £100million for Lukaku, meaning Chelsea will need to fork out a world-record fee to land their top summer transfer target.
The Telegraph, meanwhile, report that Chelsea are also set to ‘focus their efforts’ on Sanchez, who faces an uncertain future at Arsenal with just one year left to run on his contract.
Despite Arsenal’s FA Cup triumph over Chelsea on Saturday, Sanchez could quit the Emirates this summer in pursuit of a fresh challenge that can offer him a better chance at winning silverware.
But Chelsea’s potential loss could also become Arsenal and Everton’s gain, as it could mean Sanchez and Lukaku remain with their current employers ahead of next season.